Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Well-being and self belief stories and mindfulness activities with our school team!

  Mon 01 Feb 2021

  Mrs Martin reading 'Beautiful Oops!' - This is about turning mistakes into something beautiful - https://youtu.be/j1VUiImv1wo

   

  Mrs Gardner reading 'Izzy Gismo' - This story is about a girl who wants to invent things but she gets cross when they go wrong and has to work out how to manage her frustrations - https://youtu.be/GgT3rR1dq6I

   

  Mrs Rylands doing a mindfulness activity for you to try - https://youtu.be/-uIa_KilipE

   

  Mrs Poole teaching you how to draw a rocket - https://youtu.be/PnSSEYMLp0E

   

  Miss Fricker reading 'Mabel and the Mountain'- This story about believing in yourself and how this can help you to achieve anything - https://youtu.be/yz5sYtG6S4U

• Swimming Pool – Can you help?

  Mon 01 Feb 2021

  During a 'normal' year our children would have the opportunity to have one of their PE sessions as a swimming session.  

  Our regular hirer, First Stroke Swimming pool is looking to support us in making improvements to our pool so it can continue for years to come.  A new pool liner, fix the leaks, insulation, cladding is going to be fitted as stage one of the improvements, which our hirer will pay for, with a reduced rental fee from us, for the course of the next year.  We cannot afford to do the pool ourselves, so we are delighted that our hirer has given this opportunity.

  This is in itself is simply amazing, but there is something that we are on the look-out for, we need some stainless steel steps to get in and out of the pool.  (two sets ideally, but one set would be perfect).  Do you or know anyone, who could engineer/whittle/craft/make a set of steps?  If you do, then please get in touch: christchurchinfants@sgmail.org.uk

• February half-term

  Mon 01 Feb 2021

  Schools will close as usual over February half-term and we are not expected to remain open to vulnerable children and the children of critical workers during that week. We will also not be providing lunch parcels over the half term but South Glos will be issuing vouchers during the February half-term.  These are the same as the Christmas vouchers.  

  As a school we have also applied for the Covid Winter Grant Scheme, the maximum we can apply for is £1000, if successful we will be contacting families to collect the vouchers, we may be issued with £50 shopping vouchers for Tesco.  

  Your child does not have to be eligible for Free school meals, you could be working and finding it really tough, please speak to us if you are finding it tricky and we can see what we can do to support you.

• National Well-being Week

  Mon 01 Feb 2021

  This week is national well-being week so we will be sharing activities and videos with you that the staff have put together to make you feel happy and to give you a 'lift'. With this newsletter we have also shared a well-being calendar so you can choose some activities to do if you feel the need to mix it up and do something positive.

  I will also be planning some activities for the staff to do to reflect on how brilliant they are, how to stay positive and to show love and thanks to each other.

  Some well-being ideas that I find work for my family:

  • Force some daily exercise even when no-one wants to go.  Even if this is a 30 minute walk in the rain and dark after tea - it genuinely will make you all feel slightly better and able to face the next day.
  • If your children are struggling to switch off and sleep try putting on some 'sleep meditation for children' on YouTube.  These work a treat with my children and really does lead to a calmer bedtime and they fall asleep much more quickly.  I usually pop it on my phone and put my phone face down and well out of reach after a couple of stories with me.
  • Try and make a routine but also know when to ditch it and just let the kids play or have some down time.  Some battles aren't worth having.
  • Build in some small rewards and try and switch from being negative and ‘nagging’ to praising the positives - I speak from experience and have to work hard at reversing this in my house. This can simply be that you agree 3 things that you want to see daily and they tick it when done.  Things like getting their own snacks, getting dressed without arguing and doing their best learning.  You can then reward with free things like staying up for an extra 5 minutes, having 5 minutes extra screen time or something they enjoy like a TV programme or game. Try to reward the positives rather than take things away.  It also works best for me if both children earn the points for each other when one does something good so that it doesn't become a competition and they support each other to do well.
  • If you are home alone with your child/children try and force yourself to get in touch with a friend or family member each day.  I hate talking on the phone but when I make myself call someone it does make me feel better.
  • Try and do one activity each day that promotes your own and the children’s well-being.  I am recording some short video clips and sending these to you but you can also look these up.  They are better if children don't have to write anything and can simply be a breathing exercise, thinking about what makes them happy or what they are good at or doing something for someone else.  

• Staff Testing

  Mon 01 Feb 2021

  This week as a school staff team, we started doing the Covid Lateral Flow Tests (LFD) at home, thanks to our NHS families and senior school parents who told us that they are not pleasant, we can now completely agree!  The reason for school staff to be taking the tests is to try to successfully detect COVID-19 in asymptomatic individuals. Lateral flow tests are designed to detect the level of virus in individuals who do not experience and show any symptoms, but who could still be infectious and pass the virus to others. By taking a test, we are helping to stop the spread of the virus and protect others.  From our first ‘run’ on Wednesday all of us were negative.  May this continue!

• You ARE all doing amazingly well!

  Tue 26 Jan 2021 Anna Martin

  Morning all,

   

  From chatting to a few families at home yesterday I am definitely getting the feeling that lots of you are really struggling and that last week and this week have been even harder than before. 

   

  This is just a little note to remind you that you are ALL doing amazingly whatever your circumstances.

   

  You are keeping your children safe and as happy as they can be and please feel so incredibly proud of that. 

  None of you signed up for this but you are getting through each day somehow even though they may feel like very long days at times.

   

   Some days you’ll get more home learning done than others - some days you’ll feel invincible and some days as though you’ll crumble. This rollercoaster is so hard but some days will be better than others.

   

  However you are feeling know that as a school we are completely in awe of you. You are doing incredibly. 

   

  As a mum I can see how hard my own children and their dad are finding it at home so sympathise with every single one of you. I can also see how guilty others feel if their children are in school and they have no choice but to send them to school as are on the frontline. 

   

  This isn’t easy for anyone but know that we are here. If you feel you are going to crumble just call us or pop up and we will tell you how well you are doing just to survive this. 

   

  We are in this together and will come out the other side soon enough wondering how on earth we survived it but we will have. We’ll be stronger for it somehow although many days it’s hard to see how it won’t break us.

   

  Hang in there lovely people - remember happiness in your homes in more important than anything so be kind to yourselves and judge what your children need without putting pressure on yourselves.

   

  Sending you lots of love.

  Anna Martin

   

• Home Learning

  Mon 25 Jan 2021

  So that pupils and their parents know what to expect from their school if they need to self-isolate, or where national or local restrictions require them to remain at home, we are asking schools to publish information about their remote education provision on their websites by 25 January 2021.

  To support school leaders in setting out that information on their websites, the department has worked with schools to design this template. It is aligned to the expectations for remote education, to which schools must have regard under the temporary continuity direction given by the Secretary of State for Education.

  The template is not mandatory, and schools should feel free to adapt it to suit their context. For example, while it has been designed to be used at the whole-school level, some schools might find it helpful to provide different information for different key stages or subjects.

  Schools can find further help and support on how to meet the expectations for remote education via the remote education good practice guide and school-led webinars.

• Heads Update

  Fri 22 Jan 2021

  This week we have seen even more of our families adjust to coping with remote learning and juggling having children at home with everything else. This has felt impossible for so many of you but it really has meant that our numbers in school have fallen, making it feel safer for everyone and hopefully having an impact on transmission rates. Thank you to you all for helping us navigate through this challenging time whether your children are in school or at home - your support makes it possible.

  I am so amazed by what you are managing to help your children with at home despite how hard this is and lots of you are having to cram either school work or your work into impossible hours. Even if you aren’t working or looking after little ones it is still so hard to take on the role of teacher with your own children - it’s just not the same as the children learning in school and so much harder to get them to focus at home. 

   

  At school the pace is different and the children have such different motivations - you cannot recreate this so please don’t worry if your child is not learning too well at home. I know my own sons are really struggling to learn at home and what should take 20 minutes can take hours....and their dad used to be a teacher so give yourselves a break!

   

  Thank you to our incredible Teaching Assistants

  We have been thanking our teachers a great deal recently as the work they have done to pull off such quality remote learning whilst teaching in school has been outstanding.  This week I’d like to give a massive shout out to our TAs who have adjusted seamlessly to teaching the children in school when the teachers have needed to record lessons, email and phone families and hold zoom calls.  Not one of them has complained that their role has changed completely and they are now in very different roles.  Thank you to our amazing team of Teaching Assistants!

   

  Collective Worship

  This week we have been learning about showing courage when facing a challenge.  These words are from the Bible - ‘Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’ and are the words that God spoke to Joshua when he asked him to become the leader of his people. We also learnt about Sir Ernest Shackleton and the courage he showed as he navigated his crew to safety after his voyage to travel across Antarctica went horribly wrong when his ship ‘Endurance’ got stuck in the ice. Then we shared a beautiful book donated by Peggy in Panda class about Sir Captain Tom Moore and how he took 100 steps to say thank you to the NHS for showing incredible courage at such a hard time. 

   

  Living the Values - Courage

  This week the children’s awards go to Eva and Kavell in Y1. Eva has been finding it tricky to join the Crocodile zoom calls since she has been at home but found this week she found the courage to join in and talk so confidently despite feeling worried. Kavell was finding it really tricky to say goodbye to his Daddy and this week and has been so brave and done this in such a grown-up way. The staff awards go to Mrs Marsh and Mrs Dickinson. Mrs Marsh has been amazing at just stepping in for Mr Jones this week with the Penguins in school and, despite being new to Y2 this year, she has not faltered once. Mrs Dickinson has been going above and beyond this week for the families she supports and one family in particular, and it has taken courage to do this in an unfamiliar situation. She has also supported the staff brilliantly so that they can also offer support. 

   

  Thank you for donations

  We have received some lovely books this week from Peggy, some delicious staff treats from Alice and several devices to share with our families.  Your generosity is always so appreciated, thank you.

   

  Lateral Flow Testing for staff

  You may have heard that staff and regular visitors to school will all be offered Lateral Flow Tests from Monday 25th January.  We have not yet received our testing kits but believe we will receive them on Tuesday 26th January.  The purpose of these tests is to 'detect asymptomatic cases and break chains of transmission'.  

  Staff and regular visitors will be asked to take a test twice a week on a Sunday and Wednesday evening at home at approximately 5pm. They have then been asked to let me know if the result is positive immediately.  If that person has been working with children in school I will then contact you to close that class or to tell you that your child needs to isolate due to having been a close contact.  I will do this as soon as I can as it is likely to affect your critical work.

  All staff who receive a positive test result are then required to book a PCR test as soon as possible - this will hopefully be quick as school staff get priority testing.  If this result is also positive then that person and any close contacts will have to continue to isolate.  If it is negative then everyone can return to school.

  If you have any questions about this please contact Mrs Martin.

   

  Overall school attendance

  Nationally there were 13.9% of children attending school, up until the 14^th January 2021.  Last week, on average we had 40.8% of our children attending school.  This week we have averaged at 36% of our children attending school.

  Thank you to everyone who has been able to keep their children at home, it really helps.

   

  Hot Chocolate Awards

  Each week one child from every class is being recognized by their teacher for being brilliant in some way. Well done to all the children that have been chosen for this week’s Hot Chocolate Awards. These awards will either be given to the children in school or delivered to your home address, so nobody will miss out.

  • Panda: Charlie – for the great re-telling of the Three Little Pigs.
  • Lion: Mara – fantastic drawing of the Three Little Pigs story map.
  • Tiger: Aoife – for always trying her very best.
  • Giraffe: Alfie – for being such a kind friend.
  • Crocodile: Lexi – for always being such a considerate friend.
  • Cheetah: Elora – for working so hard at home
  • Penguin: Zach – for returning to school well and giving 100% in all lessons
  • Zebra: Lucas – for excellent effort, behavior and enthusiasm in everything

   

   

   

   

• Heads Update

  Fri 15 Jan 2021

  This week has definitely felt like a challenging one at CCI as we have been forced to put pressure on families to keep children at home when we are hearing how hard you are all finding it.  It goes against our nature to have to make such harsh decisions that we know directly impact on you and your children and we are so sad to be in this position.  Please know that we would give anything to have your children in school but have to do everything we can to reduce numbers in school to try reduce rates of transmission in this area.

  I want to reiterate what I posted on Facebook this week – you must do what you can to stay healthy and happy and if that means not completing all the remote learning that we are sending home then that is absolutely fine.  Many of you have more than one child at home and new babies, have limited devices, are having to work full-time and you just cannot do it all. Last time we found ourselves in this position we caught up so much of what was missed Term 1 and 2 this year and I know our brilliant staff will help your children to do the same again this time.   

   

  Your mental health and well-being and your children’s happiness is more important than getting the school work done that we set. That is the reality. We are required to set 3 hours of learning per day and in an ideal world we’d like children to do it but if they don’t nothing terrible will happen - we’ll help them to catch up when they come back.

   

  Even if they just watch the video inputs over breakfast and read to you at bed time some days - that will do.  Join the daily class calls if you can so your children see their friends, but if you can’t get them to face time a friend at the weekend. Make sure you get time to go out for some exercise together. You have to stay mentally and physically healthy for your own well-being and in turn your children will feel safe and happy.  A parent said to me this week that they are thinking of this as ‘emergency schooling’ rather than ‘home schooling’ and I thought that was a very good description.

   

  Whilst we might not know when things return to something more like normality in schools, we do know we’re now another week closer to it. Well done - you got through another week!

   

  Living the Values

  This week the children’s awards go to Tillie-Mai for coming into school without her friends, despite not wanting to.  Sophie in Tiger Class has also shown courage since the lockdown began and has coped so well with the changes in staff and children. The staff award goes to Miss Robbins for having the courage to overcome problems with technology and becoming a lesson recording whizz when your team needed you.

   

  Collective Worship

  This week we have been thinking about how we can show courage when we are feeling nervous or scared.  We talked about having the courage to do the right thing and not the easy thing. We also learnt about Paralympian Steph Reid who lost her foot in a boating accident when she was younger and went on to compete in the Paralympics.  She talks about being able to live without winning but not being able to live without doing her best.

   

  Thank you

  I wanted to say a big thank you to Luca in Cheetah Class and his family for spending Sunday clearing the weeds by the back entrance to the school.  One of our neighbours told me they had done this and I wanted to say a very big thank you to them for being so community minded. Also a big thank you to Kennedy Publishing care of Cheryl Rudman for the children’s magazines that have been shared out around all the classes and to Mkhai’s dad for giving cheetah class a much needed outdoor storage box.

   

  Hear us cry, ‘Fish Finger Friday on a Thursday!’ - 21^st January 2021

  During a usual school year, our school census is one of the biggest days on our school calendar, (from behind the scenes point of view) this is because it is where we get the school funding from for the next academic year.  Based on the number of children on roll and the amount of school meals that are taken.  This is because, as an infant school Universal Free school meals are provided for all children who are in school, the higher the take up, the higher the funding grant for meals.    In a normal school day we have around 80% meal take up, which is fantastic and with your help, during a census day, the more meals taken helps ups pay for the meals, from our grant, without it coming from the schools main budget. 

   

  This year will be different, as a school we are ‘closed’ and there is no decision made as yet as to how our funding is calculated, fingers crossed it comes from last year’s figures!

   

  Can we ask for your support, if your child is in school on the 21^st January that they take a school meal, just in case this year’s numbers are used!

   

  Thank you.

   

  PLEA:

  Laptops/Devices Donations

  If any of you have a devices that you no longer use and would like to donate to one of our families that don’t have access to one we are starting a collection. This could be an old laptop or tablet, or even an old smart phone. If you would like to donate your old device please ‘restore the factory settings’ and make sure that none of your personal information still remains on it before bringing into the school office where we will allocate them to families in need.

   

  ACCESS HOME LEARBING THROUGH YOUR PS4 OR XBOX

  Anyone without a laptop or tablet may well be able to use their games console to access the home learning.

  Here’s how to repurpose your Xbox or Playstation into an educational machine.

  Step 1: Get connected

  Both consoles are simple. For the Xbox, press the Xbox button on the controller to open the guide, and then select “My games & apps”. Here, you need to find Microsoft’s internet browser Microsoft Edge.

  The PS4’s access is similar. From the PS4 home screen, scroll to the library. Then, click on applications. If you scroll down the apps you’ll see a “www” sign circled by small dots. Click on that, and you're online.

  Both consoles can use a low-cost keyboard and mouse for web browsing – connect these through wireless bluetooth or USB.

  Step 2: Search out your online learning platform

  Your school will likely already have put work and lessons online, as they did last lockdown, and anything you can access through the browser on a computer you can now access through your console.

  Step 3: Set parental controls

  If you’re redeploying your console as a learning hub, it might also be good to revisit how to set up parental controls, maybe to limit any games your child has trouble prying themselves away from.

  On the Xbox One you do this through your child’s account. First, go into settings and find the family page. Now select your child’s account (if you don’t see their account, click “add a family member” and create or add an account for them.) You’ll now have access to a whole host of controls you can tailor to your kid’s needs, from privacy and online safety to web filtering.

  For the PS4, use the web browser to visit account.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com and sign in with the email address you used to set up your account. Select your account in the navigation bar at the top of the screen, then select family management. Once you’ve added a child’s account, you will get a similar suite of options, from spending limits to restricting certain apps or games to daily screen tim

   

   

• ....please don’t worry....

  Thu 14 Jan 2021 Anna Martin

  I’m sure there are lots of you out there this morning who are now worrying as you can no longer use the school place you had - this change comes in from Monday 18th (rest of this week as it has been).

   

  I want to try and reassure you that we caught up so much of what was missed last March-July in Term 1 and 2 this year and I know our brilliant staff will do the same again this time. 

   

  Your mental health and well-being and your children’s happiness is more important than getting the school work done that we set and you need to keep your jobs and look after other children.

   

  That is the reality. 

   

  We are required to set 3 hours of learning and in an ideal world we’d like children to do it but if they don’t nothing terrible will happen - we’ll help them to catch up when they come back. 

   

  The priority above all is that we keep as many people safe as possible by keeping more children at home. 

  If we reduce transmission because of this school ‘closure’ then hopefully all children come back to school sooner. 

   

  We know this will be so much harder than last time but be kind to yourselves and just do what you can. 

  Even if they just watch the video inputs over breakfast and read to you at bed time some days - that will do. Join the daily class calls if you can so your children see their friends, but if you can’t get them to face time a friend at the weekend.

   

  Make sure you get time to go out for some exercise together. You have to stay mentally and physically healthy for your own well-being and in turn your children will feel safe and happy. 

   

  We’ll get through this 💪🏻❤️